Economy of Mali

Economy of Mali

A pirogue carrying two passengers on the River Niger at Gao in Mali.
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA, WTO, ECOWAS, CEN-SAD
Country group	Least Developed[1] Low-income economy[2]
Statistics
GDP	$17.180 billion (nominal, 2018)[3] $44.130 billion (PPP, 2018)[3]
GDP growth	5.8% (2016) 5.3% (2017) 4.9% (2018e) 5.0% (2019f)[4]
GDP per capita	$927 (nominal, 2018 est.)[3] $2,380 (PPP, 2018 est.)[3]
Inflation (CPI)	1.734% (2018)[3]
Gini coefficient	35.7 medium (2021)[5]
Human Development Index	0.427 low (2017)[6] (182nd) 0.282 IHDI (2017)[7]
External
Current account	−$886 million (2017 est.)[8]
Gross external debt	$4.192 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[8]
Public finances
Government debt	35.4% of GDP (2017 est.)[8]
Budget balance	−2.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[8]
Revenues	3.075 billion (2017 est.)[8]
Expenses	3.513 billion (2017 est.)[8]
Foreign reserves	$647.8 million (31 December 2017 est.)[8]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Mali is based to a large extent upon agriculture, with a mostly rural population engaged in subsistence agriculture.

Mali is among the ten poorest nations of the world and is one of the 37 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries. Mali is a major recipient of foreign aid from many sources, including multilateral organizations (most significantly the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and Arab Funds), and bilateral programs funded by the European Union, France, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, and Germany. Before 1991, the former Soviet Union, China and the Warsaw Pact countries had been a major source of economic and military aid.

The per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of Mali was $820 in 1999. Mali's great potential wealth lies in mining and the production of agricultural commodities, livestock, and fish. The most productive agricultural area lies along the banks of the Niger River, the Inner Niger Delta and the southwestern region around Sikasso.